Is Thinking Critical?

We call them smart phones, but why? There is no evidence that these modern day phones have any quick-witted intelligence or that they can grow beyond their current state on their own. The word 'smart' has been co-opted and dumbed-down. This has caused a spin off effect to society where people abdicate their own smartness to the phone that acts as the conduit it provides to the public Internet. 

It can be easily noted that many people will walk down the sidewalk focused on their phones to the point were they will cross the street without the benefit of looking both ways. Some people will even take their phone to the bathroom. 

No-one seems to learn anything any more and even worse no-one seems to understand the how something does or does not work or even the why someone would want it implemented. When a person no longer understands how the world around them works they can no longer seek a way to improve it. Hence, creativity falls away to mimicry, thus signaling the end of the Socratic method and the promotion of  Sophistry, not just in a moment but in the over all general discourse. 

Problem solving is a key aspect of a happy life for many people for a number reasons. People take on a sense of pride when they accomplish something and that accomplishment typically follows the resolution of a problem. Another importance of problem solving is the easing of one's life or the life of others. Thirdly, problem solving allows one to realize when they are being lied towards, because by knowing how to connect the dots, there are a number of ways to lie, there is lie by fact and lie by omission; as these are some the two most common, knowledge of problem solving is the answer which is politely called 'connecting the dots' or 'critical thinking'. 

Exaggeration is technically a lie by fact and is typically considered what is known as a 'white lie' because when the seven pound fish becomes an eight pound fish in the story no-one really cares, though when the NEWS reports 'Mrs. Lincoln for the most part enjoyed the play she attended' one can see the difference which is an obvious lie by both omission and fact. It historically has been the job of the forth estate to inform the people of the acts and actions of the government at all levels along with significant events; local, global and everything in between. The Press seems to have stopped being held to task on their traditional promise. 

It has been said that if you don't believe in God you can believe in anything; this is the next vector of this writing. There is of course a number of ways to look at this saying and this saying has been brought up before by this author. A community that is unified in their beliefs will feel some trust with their neighbors and so they will walk into an argument with at least a bit of an open mind compared to how they approach those who they know are ideologically opposed to them. 

Returning to the connecting the dots ideal; by means an example, which is the current US inflation rate and so for this exercise we will be using the President of the United States - Joe Biden. Pres. Biden upon taking office went on an anti-Trump crusade including though not limited to the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline and re-raised the regulatory controls on drilling. The last of these two actions removed the energy independence for the USA, while the first action put a halt to an energy safety net. The next step was to drag on lock downs cutting back on the production and the ability to move goods both onshore and around the country. Finally, there was the stimulus checks sent out to those who were not working.  

For the month of May, 2022 the inflation rate for the United States was marked at 8.6%. How this happened all starts with oil and its price. Due to the supply the price of oil was around $25.00 USD per barrel on January 20, 2021 and as restrictions were put in place the production shrank thus raising the price of oil. At the time of this writing the price of oil was $122.00 USD per barrel, a rise of $100. Of course it can be assumed that with the lock downs that as gasoline supplies rose the price would drop and yet that didn't happen as the regulatory restrictions coupled with reduced worker numbers, due to vaccine requirements did not make and significant increase in production. 

Back to supply and demand, this time it is about the money supply. When more of a currency is dumped in to the system the value of each dollar declines especially if the their is little to no increase in the output of value for the manufactured goods or commodities within the system. 

In short, inflation is the result of: a) a dilution currency value, and b) an increase in prices due to increased costs. The price of oil adds to the cost of the transportation of both raw and finished goods, commodities, and that fixed costs are not fixed anymore due the devaluation of the currency. All of these factors will lead to higher overall operational costs thus resulting in higher shelf prices for the consumer.